A bickering married couple, Philip and Margaret Waverton, together with a rather less-concerned and war-weary companion Penderel, are on their way to Shrewsbury during a storm, in an era before cars came with windows. They’re cold, miserable and – soon – the worsening weather strands them at a remote house, where they’re forced to seek shelter. The inmates of this house are interesting folk, to say the least. The head of the household seems to be Horace Femm (Ernest Thesiger), who lives with his cantankerous, hard-of-hearing sister Rebecca (Eva Moore) and a mute servant, Morgan (Boris Karloff). After a small amount of disagreement on whether the three strangers should be allowed to stay or not, Horace assents, offering them hospitality in the form of a place at the fire, and a shot of gin. He’s a curious character: somewhat effete, definitely morbid but overall, fairly accommodating compared to his sister, who is soon regaling the guests with the awful godlessness of everyone who lives in the house, except her.
A strange night begins to unfold. Soon, two more travellers are hammering at the door, and they also get a grudging welcome. The conversation begins to flow, as does the booze – which isn’t a good thing where the thirsty butler Morgan is concerned. Oh, and then there’s the small matter of the elderly father ensconced upstairs (and is he the only person up there?)
As an exercise in atmosphere, and an important chapter in the rise of Universal Studios as an influential force in spooky cinema, The Old Dark House is very endearing. Director James Whale had already cut his teeth on the innovative use of sound and shadow in Frankenstein the year before, and although the film under consideration here is rather more subtle and realistic than that particular monster flick, it does bear a lot of the same hallmarks. The script here – closely following the novel – works a treat, with a terse, acerbic note throughout and some memorable lines, particularly from the character of Rebecca, who takes some time out from grumbling to mutter portentous lines to the terrified guests. But then there’s Horace Femm, whose every line and gesture here is a charm. Thesiger, contemporary and correspondent of ‘Great Beast’ Aleister Crowley, comes across as a cipher for a bygone age, all sardonic wit and rarefied manners. Karloff has little to do but loom and brawl in this film, but as ever, he has an enjoyable presence.
Although this may be a film which has little in common either thematically or stylistically with the vast majority of modern cinema and may seem like a reach for some, I still feel that it’s worthwhile for modern audiences. It’s a quaint melting pot of ambience, drama and classic cinema aesthetics in an unusual setting, as well as an engaging yarn and a cool film history lesson. Whilst The Old Dark House certainly isn’t the only old dark house out there (nor even the only film by that title) it’s nonetheless deserving of its reputation. The upcoming 4K Eureka release is of a very high quality, doesn’t look like a film which is around eighty-five years old, and comes with newly-commissioned artwork by established visual artist Graham Humphreys. If you’ve missed out on this one in the past, then this new deluxe edition would definitely come recommended.
The Old Dark House – 4K edition – will be released by Eureka Entertainment on 27th April 2018.